Mom's Chocolate Angel Pie

On a recent trip I took home, I went through the oodles and boxes and swamps and piles and mountains and stacks and days of recipes collected over the last 30 years by my mom and dad and I came away with a couple good ones to try. This is the first time I've attempted a delicious dessert, and I think it came out pretty well.

Mom's Chocolate Angel Pie (which I think may actually be Grandma's Chocolate Angel Pie)

Two egg whites
One and a half teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
One package German sweet chocolate
Three tablespoons water
One and a half cups (a little less than a pint) whipping cream

Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar and beat until foamy. Add sugar, two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until very stiff. Fold in 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla. Spoon lightly into greased pie pan and make a nest-like shell, building up the sides about a half inch above the pan. Bake at 300F for 50-55 minutes. Cool.

Melt chocolate in water over low heat, stir constantly. Cool till thickened. Add one teaspoon vanilla. Whip cream and fold into chocolate. Pile into shell. Chill for two hours.

(Mom's handwriting is actually a little fuzzy here, so it might not be 2 hours...maybe 5, or possibly S hours.)

Anyway, I put mine in the fridge at 2:00 and pulled it out for dessert at 8:30, topped it with sprinkles (because I love sprinkles), and it was oh-so-good.

Basically, it's simple, relatively quick, and delicious. Total crowd pleaser. If you like chocolate, you will like this pie.

P.S. My egg whites never got stiff enough to create a "nest-like shell," so I just dumped it in the pan and let it serve as a base instead of a shell. Turn out it turned into more of a shell while it baked, so I win anyway. Enjoy!